HSV makes noise in Singapore

Holden’s muscle-bound division has announced a new export deal to sell its cars in Singapore — but they will have to rub shoulders with cheap Czech cars.

Holden Special Vehicles, which makes its money by modifying standard Commodore sedans into performance behemoths, announced today that it will start selling its products in the island state after an 18-month process to gain a foothold in the market.

The cars will be sold via a Singapore City-based Skoda dealer, HSV announced.

“I have long been familiar with Holden Special Vehicles, and when we were looking at expanding our line-up of brands I felt it was a great opportunity,’’ Daniel Au, the managing director of Singapore-based Harvest Automobiles said in a statement today announcing the deal.

‘‘I am very confident that the car culture of Singapore will be very excited about this niche offering, and I have already sold my first allocation of vehicles.’’

HSV is not disclosing which models or how many of its 6.2-litre cars it plans on building specifically for the Singaporean market. However, the car maker is launching the brand with a day-long driver-training program run by V8 Supercar drivers Garth Tander and Greg Murphy to drum up buyer interest.